I recently posted a poll on X asking if folks think the Ottawa Senators should move back downtown or stay put in Kanata. You might not be surprised by the results, but I was.
Straw poll:
Should the #Sens move downtown or stay in Kanata?
— Capital History Ottawa (@CapHistOttawa) Sept. 26, 2023
Out of 502 respondents to the (unscientific) poll, a whopping 79.5 per cent preferred the downtown option. I didn’t pose the obvious follow-up: asking if folks would support the use of their tax dollars to help pay for it, which I suspect would produce a somewhat different result.
Many arenas for a new team
The original Sens played in numerous downtown arenas in the olden days–some more downtown than others–but I’m going to focus on the, er, ‘core four’ (ahem), all of which involved Edwin P. “Ted” Dey.
Originally, the team was called the Ottawa Hockey Club, and early on they were known by alternate names such as the Capitals and, of course, the Silver Seven. (The club was enduringly–and endearingly–named the Senators in 1908.)
The first Dey Bros. rink opened in 1884, the year after the club was formed, and was located on the north-east corner of Laurier Avenue and the Rideau Canal. This exact site–currently occupied by the Department of National Defence (DND)–is a leading contender for a new Sens arena. The nascent club practiced at the nearby Royal Rink on Slater Street before to moving into Dey’s, where they played from 1884 to 1887.
From Our Dominion, 1887.
Dey’s first rink (indicated by arrow) looking over East Block from Victoria Tower, 1888–92. Image via Library & Archives Canada, colourized by Ashley Newall.
Dey’s first rink (indicated by arrow) looking over East Block from Victoria Tower, 1888–92. Image via Library & Archives Canada, colourized by Ashley Newall.
Dey’s boatworks and first rink, ca. 1887. From Our Dominion (1887).
In 1889, the club started playing at the Rideau Rink on Laurier Avenue (then called Theodore Street) at Waller Street on the present-day site of the University of Ottawa’s Hamelin Hall. In 1895, the first Dey’s rink was demolished to make way for J.R. Booth’s Canada Atlantic Railway, which beat a path along the east side of the canal to the Central Railway Depot on Rideau Street (later to become Ottawa’s Union Station).
A record-setting Stanley Cup game
The second Dey’s rink location was considered to be in the boonies at the time, all the way out at Gladstone Avenue and Bay Street, although it was accessible by streetcar. The rink held approximately 3,500 spectators, and the ice surface featured no boards, but rather a one-foot rim around the edges.
This was where the famous Dawson City Nuggets Stanley Cup challenge series was played, in which the mighty Silver Seven showed no mercy on the weary, long-distance travellers and pasted them 23-2 in Game 2 to clinch the Cup. ‘One-eyed’ Frank McGee scored 14 goals in a single game by himself, a Cup record that still stands. It was following this game that Lord Stanley’s mug was infamously drop-kicked on to the ice of the frozen canal, where it was left overnight and then retrieved by a player the next day.
Ottawa Silver Seven, 1905. Colour postcard from SB Nation.
The rink also had a bandstand that doubled as a press box, a banquet hall, and a box exclusively for use by the majority party in government. Sadly, only one photo of the arena is known to exist–it’s of those same Dawson City Nuggets–and it doesn’t show much of the rink.
Dawson City Nuggets, outside Dey’s Rink, 1905. Photo from Yukon Archives. Colourized by Ashley Newall.
We do, however, have this detailed description of the rink, officially known as “Dey’s Skating Rink.”
From Canadian Architect and Builder, August 1896.
Dey’s Skating Rink, Goad Fire Insurance map, 1901. Map online via Geo-referenced Ottawa Fire Insurance Plans – Carleton University.
In 1902, the barn blew over in a storm, but was quickly rebuilt. The rebuilt rink included semi-circular ends instead of the old-timey squared with rounded corners. In 1920, following a fire, the rink was decommissioned.
Dey’s Rinks #3 and #4
The third Dey Bros. rink, Dey’s Arena, was built on the site of present-day Confederation Park and capacity was doubled to 7,000, making it Canada’s largest arena at the time.
Arrow points to Dey’s Arena, ca. 1920. Photo from Library & Archives Canada, colourized by Ashley Newall.
Dey’s Arena, 1927. Photo from Library & Archives Canada, colourized by Ashley Newall.
Dey’s Arena from Laurier Street bridge, 1927. Photo from Library & Archives Canada, colourized by Ashley Newall.
Following the opening game in the new Arena (Jan. 11, 1908), an irate fan wrote The Ottawa Citizen to complain:
An angry attendee at Dey’s Arena in January 1908. From The Ottawa Citizen.
The small doors and frail bridges of Dey’s Arena, c. 1910. Photo from Wikipedia.
Ottawa Senators vs Montreal Wanderers at Dey’s Arena. Poster via Library & Archives.
It was during this era that Ted Dey invented the iconic goal light:
An account of Dey’s invention of the red goal score light. From The Ottawa Citizen, May 1943.
Dey’s Arena’s interior, ca. 1920. Photo from Library & Archives Canada (appears in Lost Ottawa), colourized by Ashley Newall.
“Canal Basin and Dey’s Arena,” 1927. From Library & Archives Canada.
The Ottawa Alerts, our most famous past (and near future!) women’s hockey team, also played their games at Dey’s Arena. (Early indications are that our new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) team may drop the plural “s” to be called the “Ottawa Alert”.)
In 1927, the arena was demolished at the end of its lease.
The fourth and final Dey-related arena was the Ottawa Auditorium, which was built on the present-day site of the YMCA/YWCA building on Argyle Avenue at O’Connor Street, which opened in 1923. Capacity was upped to 10,000. It was built by a consortium that included co-owners Ted Dey and Tommy Gorman, and future sole owner Frank Ahearn.
Dey’s Arena (top left) and Museum of Nature location (top right) in the early 1960s. Photo from Urbsite, colourized by Ashley Newall.
The Ottawa Auditorium in 1954. Photo from Urbsite, colourized by Ashley Newall.
Immediately upon completion Ted divested of both the arena and the team and retired from the hockey business. The Sens moved to St. Louis in 1934, but the Auditorium continued to host hockey until it was knocked down in 1967. It was replaced by the Ottawa Civic Centre (now called TD Place Arena) at Lansdowne Park, current home of the 67s, and soon-to-be home of the Ottawa Alert.
Is there a future downtown arena?
Last year I wrote about Ottawa’s dire need for a downtown marina. I don’t feel the same way about a new downtown arena for the Sens.
I’ll go against the grain and say the Sens should stay put in Kanata, although I imagine I’d feel differently if I lived in Orleans (I live downtown).
Artist’s rendition of proposed Senators arena in Lebreton Flats. Image via National Capital Commission.
Surely the land the Canadian Tire Centre (CTC) is on could be developed and turned into a destination. For starters, we could use some more bar options for before and/or after games and concerts. Add condos and stir. (Also, a hotel, shopping, and activities… please.)
As for a mass transit link, once the LRT Stage 2 is complete, we’ll only have to bounce on the bus for five minutes along the 417 from Moodie Dr. to the CTC, which’ll be a big improvement.
The CTC is a special building–there’s not a bad seat in the house, and the exterior design has stood the test of time–and it’d be a shame to throw the perfectly good arena in the dumpster. That said, would I personally go to a few more games if the Sens move downtown (and if ticket prices don’t subsequently skyrocket)? Indubitably.
Regardless, such a move seems like a giant waste of time and money, but what do I know? (Answer: Not much about such things.)
Realistically, despite my protestations, it seems most likely that the Sens will indeed move back downtown, whether sooner or later. While the DND site is probably the worst-suited of all the potential locations floated (for multiple reasons), it would be interesting if the team lands right back where it started in 1884, on the very site of that first Dey’s rink.
Many more images related to this story can be found on Ashley Newall’s blog
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